Make A Wish
by Starlight841
Summary: She left without saying goodbye…Rory’s reaction and the thoughts of the whole Gilmore clan during Twentyone is the Loneliest Number. AU. Rogan. Maybe some JavaJunkie later.
1. Part One

Okay, so I have started a new mini-fic! I think…I don't know. I might just leave it as a one-shot. It's up to you guys if you want me to continue. If I do it shouldn't be more than a few chapters, probably five give or take a few. It's an AU starting immediately after Twenty-one is the Loneliest Number. It's also a Rogan, surprise surprise, but it also deals with the Rory Lorelai rift and Richard and Emily. It's kinda sad…but it's good. At least I think it is. Tell me what you think!

**Summary: **She left without saying goodbye…Rory's reaction and the thoughts of the whole Gilmore clan during _Twenty-one is the Loneliest Number. _AU. Rogan. Maybe some JavaJunkie later.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Gilmore Girls, just like to write about it.

**Make A Wish **

"Make a wish, Ace." Logan whispered in her ear as the chorus of people around her held out the final note of the birthday song. She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ears before leaning over her chocolate praline cake. The heat from the candles warmed her face and she could smell the smoke emanating off the colorful wax sticks plunged into the creamy frosting.

Looking at the tiny flame of the candle nearest to her, and image of a cigarette lighter flashed in her mind. She could see a thumb flicking the small metal wheel sending up a spark before creating a small line of fire. A feminine hand, with nails painted a bright shade of red, brought the cigarette to the flame and pulled it away, bringing it to a matching pair of red lips. She inhaled and a line of smoke traveled out of her mouth as she threw a hand of cards onto the green table in front of her. Black Jack.

_I wish I was in Atlantic City. _

She blew had hard as she could, almost successfully extinguishing all of her candles. Four flamed still remained lit until Lane leaned over and quickly blew them out before Rory had the chance to completely empty her lungs.

"All in one breath!" her best friend cheered, earning a soft round of laughter from everyone in the room. Logan pressed a kiss underneath Rory's earlobe and squeezed the arms he had circled around her waist tightly.

"Happy birthday, babe." He whispered just as Rory made eye contact with her grandmother from across the table. Emily raised her chin and narrowed her eyes, sending a look of disapproval that Rory had never before received from anyone. For as long as she could remember she was the angel of the Gilmore family. Her grandparents had always trusted her. They always had complete confidence in all of her choices. Well…almost…

_Maybe I was some horrible uncontrollable child like you say, but Rory isn't. She's smart and careful and I trust her and she's going to be fine! And if you can't except that or believe it, then I don't want you in this house!_

Perhaps it was all a façade. Perhaps by her grandmother inviting her into the pool house she was trying to undermined all of her mother's teachings. She was trying to keep her from becoming exactly like Lorelai. She was trying to keep her from making the same mistakes. Perhaps Emily thought it was inevitable…and now… she didn't even have her mother to defend her like she did before. She was trying to defend herself from her mother as well. When did her life take such a drastic turn for the worse?

As her grandmother continued to send a withering stare in her direction, an unexplainable emotion built up inside of her. It was foreign and indescribable for Rory. Defiance. She suddenly understood her mother's insufferable need to turn Emily Gilmore into a seething pile of rage. Wanting nothing more than to piss her grandmother off, Rory leaned into Logan's embrace, placing her hands directly over his which were resting on her stomach. She tilted her head up to the right, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek before turning back to her grandmother and staring her directly in her eyes. She achieved the reaction she had wanted. Emily's face turned a bright shade of red and Rory could swear she saw smoke coming from her ears.

"Let's cut the cake, shall we?" Emily called cheerfully, clapping her hands together in feigned excitement. A maid handed her a knife wrapped in a deep red linen cloth to keep the blade from cutting anyone. Emily turned to Rory still wrapped in her boyfriend's arms. As soon as Logan noticed her attention was on them, he dropped the arms he had around her, placing one hand in his pocket and running the other through his hair. Emily smiled in satisfaction and Rory's piercing gaze intensified.

"Rory, would you like to do the honors?" Emily asked. Rory smirked and took the knife that was offered to her.

"Sure, Grandma." She said, matching Emily's tone of forced happiness. She shed the red cloth and sliced through the layers frosting and cake, cutting pieces to distribute to all of her guests. She handed the first to Logan who smiled.

"Oh no you don't, Ace. You gotta eat the first bite it's your cake."

"I don't want any right now. I had two chocolate boxes _and_ a full plate of sushi. I completely stuffed." She argued. Logan picked up a fork from the table, scooped up a piece of the dessert, and hovered the morsel in the air, trying to get her to eat it. Rory fought him, placing her hand between the fork and her mouth, trying to swat it away.

"Logan…stop." She said as she tried to pass around the other pieces.

"Eat it!" he demanded.

"No I-'' Logan interrupted her by shoving the cake into her mouth with out warning. She brought her hand to her mouth in surprise as she was forced to swallow the chocolaty morsel.

"Logan!" she protested, swatting him on the arm and trying to wipe off the line of frosting smudged on her upper lip.

"You missed a little…" he said, pointing to the area on his lip. Rory brought a finger to the opposite side of hers, missing frosting completely. Logan smiled. "Here I got it." He said before kissing her briefly on the lips. He pulled away and grinned. "All gone."

Emily watched them from across the room, completely frozen and forgetting her hostess duties. All she could think about was Logan's reputation, Reverend Boteright, and the night twenty-one years ago when her daughter came home and told them she was pregnant. She had been sixteen years old, a child herself. And she was ruined by one mistake. And now Rory was-

"Oh, aren't those two just so adorable!" The screechy British accent of Nora asked, snapping Emily out of her reverie. She turned to her fellow DAR member and forced a smile.

"Yes…yes…they are…" she said softly as she turned back to the young couple and watched them pass around cake to everyone in the room. They were hunched over the table, cutting more pieces and Logan's hand was pressed in the small of her back as he leaned into her, whispering something in her ear as she handed him another slice to pass around. She laughed at whatever it was he had to say, resting the knife blade on the table until she regained her composure.

A jolt of pain overtook Emily as she watched the scene. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was loosing her only granddaughter. She was loosing her just like she had lost her Lorelai and she was loosing her to Logan Huntzberger.

"Ah to be young and in love…" Nora continued. "I remember when my Donald and I were like that."

"Nora, who on earth is Donald?" Emily asked, knowing well that Donald was not the name of the woman's husband.

"My first husband." Nora explained. "Wonderful man, such a shame he couldn't…well…_you know_…"

"Nora!"

"Oh, honestly, Emily, we're both adults, here. Now, that marriage didn't last long, as you can imagine. Camp as a row of tents, that one. He told me a week after the wedding. Last I heard he's living in Australia. Goes by _Donna _now, if you catch my meaning."

"Oh my…" Emily said, in a state of complete awkwardness.

"Yes, 'oh my', indeed." The red head agreed, raising her eyebrows and bringing her 'Rory' to her lips. She took a sip, swallowed, and brought her attention back to the hostess. "Luckily for dear Rory here, I don't think we need to worry about that one. If his reputation precedes him he's straight as a nail.

"You know, I heard that six years ago he dated Martha Hutchinson's girl Gracie. Apparently her mother found a pregnancy test in the girls trash can. Now, it was a negative, thank the lord all mighty but still…with a scare like that she was ruined. Never told Logan about it either, that girl, not that I can blame her. Shira was furious was she heard, though. Sent the poor lad to Andover. Told him it was because of their journalism program, though everyone knew she just didn't want to deal with the child any longer.

"Poor thing…being raised in that family. It's no wonder he was the way he was, you know, so…promiscuous and troublemaking and all. He needed _something _to get his mind off all that…his home life that is…"

Emily listened to her friend's drunken ramble, trying desperately to swallow the feelings of abject fear rising within her. Rory didn't need to be the next Gracie Hutchinson, ruined by a false alarm. God forbid if she was ruined by real one.

"…It's so wonderful he's found Rory, though. Don't you think Emily? That girl's completely turned that boy around. She's not his usual type, though I'm sure you already know that. I mean Rory, she's a brain that one, talented to boot. And well she's…she's so…_innocent_…the morals of most of the girls he used to see were, well, questionable to say the least if not non-existent. You should be proud of-"

"Anna!" Emily called to a server walking past them with a plate of appetizers. "How many times must I tell you, no garnish! It's not that hard of a concept to grasp! Honestly, you'd think I was surrounded by incompetent three-year-olds!" She snatched the offending greenery form the tray and turned back to her friend. "Excuse me, Nora. It seems I have to do everything around here!"

As Emily turned the corner and walked into the kitchen to dispose of the plant, she leaned against the counter and brought one hand to her eyes in order to shield the falling tears from the others in the room.

* * *

"So, what did you wish for?" Logan asked as they cut the last piece of cake.

"I can't tell you!" Rory exclaimed. "If I tell you then it won't come true, now will it?"

"Oh, well. I'm sorry. Just forget I even asked, then."

"I plan to." Rory said with a teasing smile. "I'm going to go give this to my Mom."

Logan smiled as he watched Rory bounce of into the living room in search of her mother. She was so unbelievably happy, something that he hadn't seen since well…let's just say it had been a long time. Her mother was here. He knew that was the cause of her sudden elation. She had been nervous before. But when he saw them talking in the foyer a while ago he knew her nerves had disappeared. Perhaps this birthday party would finally bring an end to the rift between them. He hoped, for Rory's sake, that it did.

"Logan!" a cheerful voice of a DAR member called from behind him. He turned and smiled at the woman.

"Hello Mrs. Gately. How are you?"

"I'm wonderful dear. Thank you for asking. Your mother told me that you've been working with your father. Finally training to take over the empire?" Logan forced a smiled through the feelings of contempt, something that he had become a master of over the years.

"Yea, I'm a regular Luke Skywalker. I just wish my father would take off that damned helmet. I might be able to understand him better…" What he hadn't become a master of was repressing his smartass comments.

"I'm sorry?"

"Nothing, Mrs. Gately I was just making a…joke...um…Yes, I've been working with Dad a lot lately, getting the feel for things."

"How wonderful. You're enjoying yourself I presume?" Mrs. Gately asked.

"Well, I don't have much of a choice now do I?" Logan received a soft laugh from Mrs. Gately and he forced himself to smile once again. He was glad people found so much pleasure out of his pain.

"Oh, Logan, you're such a card. Just like your father…"

"Excuse me, Mrs. Gately, but I need to go find Rory. She seems to have disappeared." Logan said, feeling the desperate urge to get away.

"Of course, dear. It was wonderful seeing you."

"You too." Logan said as he walked into the living room in search of Rory.

_Just like your father…_

He stepped into the room and looked around, finding her nowhere in sight. Where had she run off to? She had to be somewhere around here. After all she had just left his side only moments ago, claiming to go find Lorelai. When he had fetched her to blow out her candles the mother and daughter had been talking in the foyer. They can't have traveled that far in the short amount of time. Yet, they were nowhere to be found.

_Just like your father…_

He spotted Lane in the living room standing by the bar with a Rory in her hand. Walking up to her, he tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped, bringing a hand to her heart and turned around to face him.

"Oh, hey, Logan!" she said with a smile. Logan smiled back, genuinely this time.

"Hey…uh…listen, have you seen Rory?" he asked, looking around the room yet another time.

"Um…yea I saw her walking upstairs a second ago. I think she was going to get something from her room. Have you by chance seen Zack? I lost him a while ago."

"Um, no, sorry. I've been too busy being cornered by my parents' friends." He said.

"Oh, man, that sucks. But hey, if you don't find Rory and I don't find Zack what do you say we run off together?" Logan genuinely laughed for the first time all night while speaking with someone other than his girlfriend.

"You've got yourself a deal. But if I don't come back in ten minutes, go ahead without me."

"Bye." Lane said as Logan slipped away, up the stairs. He left the party behind him, forgetting all of the people and stupid conversations.

_Just like your father…_

He turned, leading himself down a hallway with absolutely no idea where he was headed. Knocking on random doors, he was met with silence from all of them. He peeked his head through a couple of rooms, concerned that maybe she just wasn't answering. He found, a master bedroom, a bathroom, a closet, and a room that looked strikingly similar to Honor's old room in his parents' house. It must have once belonged to Lorelai.

_Just like your father…_

Damn it! Why couldn't he get that woman's voice out of his head? It was ridiculous. He was nothing like his father. He wasn't. He was _absolutely _nothing like his father. He and Mitchum had not one thing in common. They were completely different people. They both hated each other. To say that he was just like Mitchum was absurd and…just…well it just wasn't true at all…It was stupid…wasn't it?

Coming to the last door in the hall he drummed his fingers lightly against the wood. Hopefully he would find Rory in here. It wasn't like her to leave in the middle of a party like that. Something must have gone horribly wrong with her mother.

"Please leave me alone, Grandma." Her distressed voice called from the other side.

"It's me, Ace." He said softly.

"Logan?"

"Who else calls you Ace?" he asked. "Can I come in?" He waited in silence for a few moments, receiving no reply. "Ace?" he prompted again.

"I'm nodding my head." Rory called with a sniff. He smiled and pushed the door open, wincing once he saw the décor of the room.

"Homey…" he commented. "Please tell me that's not Justin Timberlake." Rory laughed and then broke out into a strangled sob.

"Hey…whoa…" he said as he climbed onto the bed next to her. When he walked in her face had been buried in a lace trimmed pillow and as soon as he was lying next to her it was buried in his chest. She clutched him, holding on for dear life, and her tears soaked through the fabric of his shirt at immediate contact. Her shoulders were quaking violently as she breathed in ragged breaths of air. He could tell by the way she gasped that she was having a hard time exhaling.

"What's all this about?" he asked while running a soothing hand up and down her back. Rory continued to sob, gripping him even tighter. Understanding that she was currently unable to speak, he whispered soothing words in her ear and continued to rub her back in an effort to calm her down.

"M-Muh-My M-uh-om…s-she…sh-she luh she l-left. S-She l-l-left witho-out…she l-left without s-s-uh-s-saying go-goodb-bye." Logan sighed, closing his eyes tightly and held her as tightly as possible.

"S-She le-left without s-saying g-goodbye and I-I th-thought that…I th-thought that we-" Rory interrupted herself, breaking out into another fit of sobs. Logan cradeled her as best he could. Running on hand down her back and the other through her hair.

"Sh…it's okay. Everything's, okay, Ace. I'm here. Let it out."

* * *

After his fourth glass of scotch, Richard Gilmore finally felt as if he could brave the crowd of people gathered in his home long enough to wish his granddaughter a happy birthday. He stepped out of his study for the first time all day and looked around at the celebration. Emily had done a wonderful job. It was a beautiful party. It was her specialty, after all. No one could plan an event better than she. And now…finally she had someone to pass on the knowledge she had acquired to. Rory would make a fine apprentice.

After all, she had already planned the most successful DAR event in years. Emily herself couldn't have hoped for a better success. He should be proud. Rory was quite the hostess, charming, funny, intelligent. She would make someone a fine wife one day. She would make _him _a fine wife one day. It was sickening. He needed more scotch.

Scotch. It was _his _drink of choice as well. The nefarious rodent that had stolen her…He couldn't bring himself to even think about it. Damn that boy! He should have known. He should have read him the moment he walked through those door with that pack of cigars, the brownnosing scoundrel. He had known his reputation. He had heard all the rumors about his actions in the past. Gracie Hutchinson and now Rory Gilmore.

He was naïve. He was naïve in his assumption that Rory was strong enough to resist the temptation. That boy was too slimy for his own good. Just like his father-a master of double talk and false values. He had ruined her. He had taken his beautiful, talented, strong-willed granddaughter and changed her into a mindless drone, a Barbie. This was all his fault. Lorelai was right. He had been thrilled that Rory had made such a _wonderful _contact with someone from _their _world, a fine upstanding young man. How wrong he was. He had seduced her into a life a meaningless parties and stupid small talk. He had seduced her into a number of things…

_Okay, that word, perfect, he is not. I mean, no one is, okay, but especially him! I mean, at your wedding, I caught him and Rory in the back room… …uh, kissing… _Kissing

Recalling his daughter's words and finally understanding their implications, Richard slammed his hand down on the bar top before snatching a glass of scotch that the nervous bartender handed him. She was having sex with that boy! He was reliving that moment twenty-one years ago all over again. She was throwing her life away! She was going to end up pregnant and she was never going to go back where she belonged. She was never going to go back to Yale. It was just as _he_ liked it. _He_ had his perfect future trophy wife. Damn him!

"Richard!" Emily exclaimed, running up to him with a look of panic in her eyes. She grabbed his arm tightly. "I haven't been able to find Rory and when I asked her Asian friend where she was she told me that she went upstairs-"

"Honestly, Emily, I don't see what the big problem is. Perhaps the girl was just tired. I would make sense with all the hard work she does."

"Richard, she's up there with Logan!"

"What!" the man barked, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. He ran up the stairs as fast as he could, fuming with anger as he turned the corner and walked toward his granddaughter's bedroom.

The second he got his hands on that retched vermin of a boyfriend she had, he was going to wring his neck, strangling him with his own bare hands. He approached the slightly open door, ready to pounce when he froze suddenly, hearing cries coming from the room. These cries, however, were not ones of lust like he had imagined, but rather cries of pure paralyzing pain. His heart broke inside his chest as he listened to Logan trying to calm her.

"Sh…it's okay, Ace. Calm down…its okay." He heard Logan whisper.

"No it's not okay!" Rory yelled in anger, startling Richard with her forcefulness. She began to cry again, her sobs being muffled by something, more than likely Logan's embrace. "It's not okay…n-nothing's o-okay an-nym-more. E-Everyone ha-hates m-me."

"Oh, no that's not true." Logan soothed. "That's not true at all. I don't hate you." Richard's anger with the boy faded hearing the meaning of that statement.

"Y-You're th-the only o-one. M-y M-Mom a-and and m-y g-grandparents and P-Paris…"

"Paris hates, everyone, Ace." Logan said, causing her to laugh through her tears. Richard's feelings of anger were now completely gone, being replaced by the despair of having his only granddaughter think he hated her.

"I promise everything is going to be okay. Your family doesn't hate you." Logan continued.

"Y-Yes they d-do. D-Don't make pr-promises you can't ke-keep. M-My Mom promised s-she'd a-always l-love me and n-now…n-now she…she…"

"No, Ace. No. Your Mom still loves you. She loves you more than you can possibly imagine. So do your grandparents. Trust me they wouldn't want to kill me like they do if they didn't love you." Rory laughed.

"Th-They don't w-want to k-kill you." Rory said.

_Yes we do._ Richard thought.

"Yes, they do."

Well, maybe Richard didn't want to _kill _as much as maim…

"Your family is just scared, Ace. They see you, this amazing, intelligent, strong-willed girl that they love falling apart because of….because of something that my father said. That's not like you Rory. You don't crumble because of some ignorant bastard. And yet, here you are dropped out of Yale and planning parties…They don't know what's going on. They're afraid that they're loosing you. They're afraid that they're loosing you to _me _which is even worse-"

"They're d-disappointed in m-me."

"Maybe…" Rory started to cry harder again.

"A-Are y-you di-disap-disappointed i-in m-me t-too?" she asked.

"Never, Ace. You don't have to worry about that. I'll always be here." He said.

Okay, so maybe Richard didn't want to _maim_ as much as smack around a little.

"Wh-What i-if I ne-never g-go back to Y-Yale?" Rory cried, breaking Richard's heart all over again. She had to go back. It's where she belonged.

"You're going back to Yale." Logan said, surprising Richard with his adamancy.

"B-But wh-what if I-I d-don't?"

"You're going back to Yale. You belong at Yale. You love Yale. You're Rory Gilmore. You like to go the library and sniff books-" Logan was interrupted by Rory's laughter. "You like to walk around the newsroom because it makes you feel important. You like to touch the toe every time you walk past it. You like to accuse people who have fun of being butt-faced miscreants…"

"You are a-a b-butt-faced miscreant." Logan laughed. "B-But I love you."

It felt as if someone had knocked Richard over with sack of bricks. He needed to steady himself with the wall; otherwise he would have fallen over. His granddaughter was in love.

"Well that's always nice to hear." Logan replied. The room was filled with silence for a moment and he could hear the sniffs of his granddaughter lessen as she finally calmed.

"I should go." Logan said.

"No! Stay. I don't want you to go! I need you!" Rory cried. Richard could hear Logan's painful sigh.

"I can't stay Rory. You're grandparents…"

"I don't care about th-them. Stay, Logan, _please_. I just want you to h-hold me." It felt as if someone was ripping Richard's heart out.

"I know...but I can't. I'm sorry, Ace." Logan said his voice cracking. Richard heard the soft smacking of lips, indicating that a kiss was taking place, followed by another cry from Rory. "I'll send Lane up here to be with you." A brief silence followed in which Rory was probably nodding her head. Logan sighed. "I'll call you."

Shortly after Richard saw the door open all the way and Logan close it behind him, leaning against the solid wood and holding his head in his hands to clam himself down. The boy looked haggard, pained. Richard knew he probably was after having to leave his girlfriend in that state.

"I owe you an apology, Logan." Richard said, startling the boy to death.

"Richard-I'm sorry. I was just…I-I Rory was upset...she…I didn't…"

"I know, son. I heard."

"You heard…" Richard could tell that Logan was upset with that piece of information. He couldn't really blame him.

"Yes, I did. I'm sorry for eavesdropping but when I come upstairs and hear my granddaughter in hysterics its hard to just walk away." Logan nodded.

"I understand."

"No, you won't understand until you have a girl of your own." Richard said. Logan bit his lip and looked down at his shoes. "But, anyway, as I was saying I owe you an apology."

"For what, sir?" Logan asked.

"For blaming you. I see now that I was wrong in my accusations and although I never verbalized them to you I'm sure you suspected. I was wrong and for that I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Richard." Logan said. "But…Do you think you could make it up to me with a favor?" Logan asked. Richard raised his eyebrow at the boys presumptuousness. He really was just like his father…in _some_ ways.

"Depends on what the favor is, my boy." Richard said, letting Logan know with his eyes that under no circumstances was he going to allow him back into that room. It didn't matter how sorry he was. Logan cowered a little before regaining his composure. Richard Gilmore was a very large man.

"I was wondering if you could give me Lorelai's address."

**TBC…**

* * *

So there it was. Tell me if I should continue with the mini-fic or just leave it as a one shot by reviewing! You know you want to… ; ) 


	2. Part Two

Finally, it's here, the second part of the story! I'm sorry it took so long. It's just…do you have _any_ idea how hard it is to write a Logan/Lorelai conversation like this one? I mean…I can't tell you how many times I had written about five paragraphs, read though it, and then just backspaced all of it. I was jumping all over the place, trying to get everything out and it wasn't working. Then I was frustrated so I took a break. But I have finally jumped the hurdle! Hopefully you all like it...then I'll know if the frustration was worth it. Lol.

On another note I would just like to say…WOW. This thing got 56 reviews! That is mind blowing! Thank you all so much! It's so awesome that you had such a positive feedback. There was pretty much a unanimous vote to continue on so I really didn't have any other choice. You guys are amazing! I hope this lives up to your expectations.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gilmore Girls. Trust me. I don't.

**Make A Wish**

**Part Two**

Pulling a long strand of bright red Cajun Sausage out of the meat drawer in the refrigerator, Lorelai plucked off a single link and stalked toward the shaggy dog plopped in front of Rory's bedroom door. For days now he had been lying there, sticking his nose in the tiny crack between the bottom of the door and the kitchen floor, trying to sniff what was on the other side. The mystery was too much for the dog to handle. He wanted in that room and he wasn't going to rest until the door came crumbling down. He brought a paw to the surface and started scratching, hoping to dig his way through.

"Paul Anka…" Lorelai called as she hunched over and started walking slowly over to him, suspending the sausage in front of her. "Look what I've got for you, a nice juicy sausage, yum!" Paul Anka cocked his head to the side and raised his ears, showing his interest in the treat. He started to sniff in anticipation as she neared him. "Come on, Paul Anka. Back away from the door." She continued, swinging the meat like a pendulum in front of his face and luring him away.

Paul Anka's feet left the tile where they had been previously cemented, and he creeped toward the sausage. Lorelai backed away slowly and Paul Anka followed her, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "Good boy. Come on. Come get the sausage…" His mouth was centimeters away from the meat and he pressed his cold wet nose against it, sniffing in its scent before jetting his tongue out to capture the flavor.

As soon at his mouth came in contact, however, he jerked away yelping and whining as he ran into the living room. Lorelai sighed as she stood up and threw the sausage into the garbage disposal. She grabbed a pen and walked over to the fridge.

"Sausage links…" she said out loud as she scribbled it down on the long list of Paul Anka's phobias. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him before she bought him. He was more screwed up than she was. Now, that was saying something...She grabbed a soda from the fridge and turned around, noticing the scratch marks that now covered the door.

"Ugh! Paul Anka…" she whined as she set the soda can down on the counter and walked over to the door. She ran her fingers along the groves and sighed. She'd have to call Luke to fix that. Her eyes traveled upward, following the scratches until they reached the door knob that hadn't been opened in months. She placed her fingers on the knob, contemplating if she should walk in.

She hadn't been inside that room in so long. She wondered if it even looked the same. But then, she already knew the answer to that. It didn't. She didn't need to see it to know that it was nothing like she remembered. All of her pictures were gone, her clothes, her make-up, CD's, books…No room was Rory's room without the books, not even this one. It had stopped being her room the day her grandmother came and took everything away, along with Lorelai's hope that she would come to her senses and return home, return to Yale. Rory was gone and she wasn't coming back. Maybe TJ was right. She could do so much with that space, expand the kitchen, maybe make a dining room, or a breakfast nook.

She took her fingers off the knob and ran them quickly over her eyes, wiping away the traces of tears that had almost fallen. She walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch next to Paul Anka. He crawled closer to her and rested his shaggy head on her thigh. Lorelai started to run her fingers through his fur and began to speak.

"So you like that room, huh?" she asked. Paul Anka remained still as she went on. "Well, I guess you could use it then. There's no point in keeping it locked down. It's a waste of perfectly valuable space. It's not like I'm saving it for anyone, you know." Paul Anka snorted. "Okay, well, I _was _saving it but…well, there's no point now. I mean, she's not coming back." Paul Anka whined. "Yea…It's sad isn't it? I mean…even if she did leave her grandparents she wouldn't come back here. Why would she? I mean…she hates me…She'd move in with someone she loves, right? She'd move in with-"

Lorelai was interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up the drive way. She turned around and looked outside as the headlights of the sliver sports car turned off. A familiar blonde climbed out of the driver's seat and closed the door behind him.

"-_Logan_…"

* * *

"Shazzam, I think I'm in Mayberry." Logan muttered as he closed the door to his Porsche. He looked around the neighborhood, shocked by its hominess and the close proximity off all the neighboring houses. He didn't think places like this still existed in the world. They didn't even have a McDonalds here. What kind of sick American community didn't have a fucking McDonalds? Certainly not the one he came from. After driving through this town, he was happy for the first time in his life to have been raised in the capitalist city atmosphere. At least he could get some chicken nuggets at three in the morning should the desire arise.

It was _charming_, and thinking that made him want to kill himself, realizing it was something his mother would say. It was just so…different, different than anything he had ever imagined. When he pictured the "small town" life, he usually had a typical suburban environment in mind. It came complete with a few restaurant chains, a Wal-Mart, a Cineplex, and if it was really nice maybe even a Kohl's. Stars Hollow didn't have any of that. He was so used to the city. He had lived there his whole life. For as long as he could remember he was able to jump in the car and be at the mall in less than ten minutes.

He stepped toward the door, for some strange reason not having any fear. He should be terrified. This woman _hated _him. She blamed him for everything that had gone wrong with Rory, the girl whom she loved more than anything in the world. She thought that he was her downfall, that he had completely ruined her life. What scared him the most is that sometimes he thought the same thing. Maybe that's why he had this insufferable urge to do something about it.

The anxiety had finally settled in once he stepped up the stairs of the porch and stood in front of the door. Reminding himself of why he was doing this, he lifted his fist and knocked on the door. In less than a second the door swung open, revealing for just a brief moment the smirking face of one Lorelai Gilmore.

"Go to hell!" she sang in a perky voice. Logan opened his mouth to retort but was stopped by the sudden slamming of the door in his face. Sighing in exasperation he knocked once again.

"I'm sorry. I think you're confusing me with someone else. If you're looking for Satan, she's about thirty miles from here. I understand your confusion though. After all, we're both named Gilmore." Lorelai yelled from the other side of the door.

"I just want to talk." Logan said.

"Why the hell should I waste my time talking to you? The last girl who did ended up with a criminal record and dropped out of school. You should be proud, really. Think about all the food you saved by getting rid of Rory Gilmore. The cafeteria will be able to feed three more students now! All thanks to the wonderful humanitarian acts of those _darling_ Huntzbergers! Most people just write checks, but not you. You like to be much more personal with your charity work."

"Lorelai, please, just give me five minutes. That's all I ask."

"Are you seriously still standing there?" she asked. Logan sighed. This was proving to be extremely more difficult than he had planned.

"Look, I know you think that Rory's dropping out of school was my fault but-" The door swung open revealing Lorelai whose face was contorted with anger.

"Are you really going to defend yourself? If it weren't for you, she would have _never _doubted what she was capable of. She would have never had the desire to become anything but the smart, hardworking, brainy, somewhat nerdy Rory that's she always been. Now, as soon as you enter the picture, she's off partying and in a _casual_ relationship and stealing boats. She dropped out of Yale, _Yale_. Do you have _any _idea how much she _loved _Yale?"

"Yes, I do actually." Logan stated confidently. He understood more than most how much Rory loved school. It was one of the reasons he fell in-_for_ her. The look on Lorelai's face was one of pure doubt. She gaped at him before shouting defensively.

"No! You don't! She's been working at this since she was four years old! All she ever wanted was to go to a good school and be an award winning journalist and travel the world. Now she's in the DAR, planning parties and throwing her life away to be arm candy to some pompous waste of a trust fund. You turned her into my mother. I will _never_ forgive you for that. You don't know her at all."

That sent Logan over the edge. He no longer cared about the impression he was making on his girlfriend's mother. There didn't seem to be much he could do to alter her feelings anyway. His anger was boiling, heated by the accusation that he didn't know Rory. He had been her main confidant for months now. He had seen her through the all the bullshit that had become her life as of late. That was more than Lorelai could say.

"_I _don't know her? Let's turn this around here for just one second. Did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, she's not sure what she wants? What kind of four year old knows exactly what she wants to do with the rest of her life? When I was four I wanted to be racecar driver! And-okay, even though I admit being a racecar driver would be frickin awesome- I changed my mind! I _still _don't know what I want to do with my life. But I don't have a choice. Rory has a choice! You just won't let her make it because you're _so _terrified that she'll do something that _you'll _disagree with!"

"That's not true at all! Rory is free to do anything she wants to in life. She knows that. I've _always _told her that! I've always respected her decisions. " Lorelai defended.

"Oh you mean how you _respected _her choosing to take a break from school to clear her head?" Logan accused. At Lorelai's silence he continued on. "Or how about how you respected the fact that she sent in an application to Yale when _you _wanted her to go to Harvard so badly?" At Lorelai's surprised look, Logan continued on. "Yea, it's shocking isn't it? I actually listen to her once and a while. I guess I'm not such a manipulative womanizing man-whore after all." Now, Lorelai was beyond pissed.

"Oh, right, you listen to her all the time don't you? You care _so _much! Yet, here you are claiming that I'm pushing her into something that she doesn't want to do. That's bullshit! Rory _loves_ journalism. If you knew her at all, you would know that."

"I _know _Rory loves journalism. That's why I _know_ she's going to go back. She loves school. She loves to learn. But she needs to go back on her own time. She's lost right now. She's not happy and I hate seeing her like this. But damn it she's smart! She knows that she's miserable and she knows what will make her happy again! She just needs some time. She needs some support! For the third night in a row I've stayed up with her while she broke down into sobs over the fact that no one loves her anymore!"

"That's ridiculous!" Lorelai exclaimed, almost in tears herself.

"Is it?" Logan asked. "Do you really blame her for thinking that when her mother, her best friend since birth who had promised to always love her and give her anything, abandons her the second she makes a mistake? Do you know how afraid she always was of being anything but perfect, of showing just the tiniest flaw? One night she cried herself to sleep because she got a C on a test. She was absolutely hysterical, yelling about how it would ruin her _perfect_ grade point average. Why does she have to be perfect all the time? Can't she ever just be human? Is that not good enough for you?"

"Of course not! I wouldn't care if she got a C!" Lorelai defended.

"You would have written it off as a mistake, told her to just 'try harder next time.' She tried as hard as she could! It's calculus. She hates calculus. When she has to get tutored by me, trust me, she's trying as hard as she can. _I'm _a last resort."

"She never told me she was even having problems."

"Probably because she would have mentioned I was helping her and you would have gone into a lecture about how horrible I am. Don't you think that hurt her? You don't even know me but you were _so _quick to judge. Why do you think it took so long for us to formally meet? She was afraid of what you would think! She was afraid that you would hold it against her. She wants your approval more than _anything. _I don't understand it. Because, trust me, I don't give a _shit _about how you feel about me. You want to hate me? Go right ahead. I can hate people with the best of them as well. But you better get used to me because I'm not going anywhere."

Logan turned around, leaving Lorelai speechless at the doorway. He was accustomed to silencing people with his words. It was in his blood. But he didn't know what a feat he had just accomplish silencing the one and only Lorelai Gilmore.

"Oh…" he said, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out an envelope. He turned back around and handed it to her. "Two open tickets to Atlantic City. Do with them what you please. All you have to do is call the airline and tell them when you want to schedule your flight. You also have an open invitation at the Trump Plaza. Consider it another one of the _wonderful humanitarian acts of those _darling _Huntzbergers._"

"How did you know?" Lorelai asked, her voice cracking slightly.

"Rory told me. I was going to take her myself but after tonight I've changed my mind. There yours to do with as you please. Take whomever you want. I just want to tell you there's a certain twenty-one year old girl in Hartford who's been dying to go for years now."

Logan turned and walked back to his car. He slid inside, turned on the ignition, and pulled out of the driveway, watching Lorelai as she stood on the porch. He held the plane tickets in her hand and her eyes followed his car as he backed away. A solemn look was plastered on her face. Logan couldn't tell if it was remorse or anger. He did know that after tonight, he had made one hell of an impression. Maybe Lorelai would finally see past his name, to what though, he didn't really know.

* * *

"I like this party _so _much better than the one downstairs." Lane said as she munched on a mini chocolate donut. After being forced into the big house, Rory had collected all the junk food she possibly could and stashed it underneath her bed for safe keeping. Currently lying between the girls was a smorgasbord of potentially harmful snacks and sweets. It was really the only way to go in regards to sustenance. Rory smiled.

"Me too!" she said in agreement. "We haven't hung out like this in a long time. I've missed you. We usually spend the whole summer together but…" she trailed off, not wanting to get into that topic again. She had, just minutes ago, stopped crying. However, that lump seemed to be permanently lodged in her chest. It could spark another round of sobs any moment.

"Let's not talk about that." Lane suggested quickly, giving her best friend no time to even think about the subject. Rory smiled gratefully and nodded her head. "Let's talk about what we used to talk about."

"What did we used to talk about?" Rory asked digging through her brain in order think of something.

"I don't know, girly stuff like…make-up and boys and Barbies…" Lane said with a shrug. Rory scrunched her face in aversion.

"I don't think we ever talked about make-up _or_ Barbies." She said.

"No, you're right." Lane agreed. "We did talk about boys, though."

"Oh, yea!" Rory agreed with a laugh. "_Dave!"_

"Oh, Dave!" Lane exclaimed happily. "He was such a wonderful first boyfriend."

"Remember Henry?" Rory asked with a laugh.

"Ah, Henry Cho, my first love. Alas, it was not meant to be." Lane said, sighing dramatically.

"I thought Alex Bakas was your first love." Rory said in confusion.

"No, Alex Bakas, while appealing to a girl with a high visual-spatial intellect such as myself, was not my first love. He was just my first crush. That is if you don't count my strange and quite embarrassing obsession with Mark-Paul Glossellaar."

"You always did have a thing for guys named Zack!" Rory exclaimed mockingly, smiling widely. Lane laughed along with her, happy to be in the company of her best friend again. This rift between the Lorelais was proving to be damaging to more than just the two parties involved.

"Oh my God! Zack!" Rory exclaimed. "We left him down there in the penguin habitat!"

"Nope, I told him to go ahead and leave before I came up here. I figured I'd be spending the night. Anyway, enough about me. What about you?" Lane asked.

"What about me?"

"We should talk about your first love, _Dean_." Lane said in a sing-song voice. Rory blushed and looked down at the bedspread. It was strange talking about Dean. It was almost as if the Dean from her high school days and the Dean now were two completely different people, two completely different relationships. "He was more than just your first _love_."

"He was my first everything." Rory said solemnly.

"Do you regret that?" Lane asked, picking up the mood switch in her friend. "I mean…losing your virginity to him?" Rory thought for a moment.

"Yes and no." she said. "I regret the way it happened, the circumstances and everything. I don't know though. I loved Dean. at least I _think _I did. I guess that made me think I had more right to him than Lindsay did, his _wife_. That was so messed up. I hate myself for that. I mean what kind of person tries to justify sleeping with someone else's husband? Poor Lindsay, she didn't deserve that. And that letter! Oh my God the letter, I can't believe I wrote that and she _found _it. I'm so horrible."

"You were confused. You didn't know what was going on. You're not horrible. Everyone makes mistakes…" Lane said.

"I guess…" Rory agreed, nodding her head.

"Would you change it if you could?"

"I don't know." Rory admitted. "I feel terrible about what I did but…some part of me is still happy I did it. I'm glad my first time was with Dean. It just felt so safe and sturdy. It's hard to describe. My first time with Logan was so…needy, you know. It wasn't rough or uncomfortable or anything it was just so passionate and raw…Dean was a lot gentler. It was almost like he thought I would break or something." Lane simply nodded in response. "Is this weird, me talking about this when you haven't…"

"No! No, not at all. Are you kidding I live vicariously through you. Who knows when I'll ever have sex, _if _I'll ever have sex?" Lane said.

"Alright, if you say so."

"So who's better?" Lane asked with a curious smile and a raised eyebrow. Rory blushed and smiled as well.

"Logan." She said without a moment's hesitation. "He's so…I don't know how to describe it. He's just…intense. It's never rushed or careless. It's aggressive but not forceful. He knows just how far to take it. And…I don't know…this might sound stupid but when I'm with him I don't feel like we're just _having sex_, you know? It feels like there's something more, like a merging of the souls and what not. I sound like an idiot."

"I think it's romantic!" Lane said. Rory rolled her eyes, unconvinced by her best friend's claims.

"That's another thing…I don't think I'd be with Logan now if I hadn't have lost my virginity to Dean. Logan…he's…well he was a little promiscuous when I first met him. I don't think he would have even come within five feet of me if he knew I was a virgin. Come to think of it I don't think I would have come within five feet of him. I would have been way too scared." Lane laughed.

"So no regrets then?" Lane asked.

"My only regret is all the money I'm going to have to spend on a sweater for Logan. He has expensive tastes." Rory said.

"Am I supposed to understand that?" Lane asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My grandparents…"

"Stop right there!" Lane commanded holding up her hand. "I've heard enough."

"Tell me about Stars Hollow!" Rory said enthusiastically, changing the subject.

"Well…Barbette and Morey are tweaking their noose this year to make it look like he's actually dead…"

* * *

Phones do not dial themselves. This was a fact that Lorelai Gilmore had come into knowledge with after staring at the plastic buttons of the phone in her hand for the past ten minutes. Shortly after Logan had left she realized that he was right about some things. She shouldn't be sitting here sulking every night while her daughter was going through all of this. What kind of mother was she? She let her anger get the best of her. She threw her own child out of her house and refused to speak to her until she was back in school.

She still didn't agree with what Rory had done. After all of the opportunities she had in front of her she quit. She threw it all away. It wasn't right. It wasn't _Rory_. But she needed to figure that out herself. She didn't need the silent treatment from her mother to figure it out for her. Lorelai made the ultimate decision to call her.

She called Sookie first. She asked about Davey and Martha. They had a witty round of banter regarding Michel's latest antics. Then she asked for her daughter's cell phone number. Shocked into silence, Sookie retrieved it, not even asking what she needed it for. When Lorelai hung up she placed her finger on the "4" but she couldn't press it.

It was at that exact moment that she realized she just had to call her friend to get her own daughter's number. Suddenly she was overcome with a paralyzing fear. If she didn't even know Rory's number how could she be so sure she knew Rory anymore? What if it was all a metaphor? What if the cell phone number's complete transformation signified her daughter's complete transformation?

What if she was just stalling by coming up with ridiculous scenarios in her head?

She rolled her eyes and started to dial the number written on the piece of paper. She stopped when her eyes landed on a one…or was that a seven? How was she supposed to dial the number when she couldn't even read her own hand writing? She could always call Sookie to confirm. But…then…Sookie was so busy with the kids. She had bothered her enough for one night. It wasn't fair to call her again. She'll ask her tomorrow. Yes…tomorrow…Tomorrow she'll call Sookie, confirm the number and _then_ she'll call Rory. Yes, that's what she would do. She was too tired to talk on the phone anyway. It would be in the best intrest of everyone if she jusy called tomorrow...

Right now, she was going to get some coffee. Right…she needed coffee. That's why she was leaving. She had no other motives at all. She simply needed caffeine.It was an emergency. She grabbed her coat and her keys and headed out the door to Luke's. The fact that the diner was closed at this time of night didn't even seem to bother her at all.

After all…she didn't _really_ want coffee that badly anyway.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed! Don't forget to review. : D 


	3. Part Three

Part Three! It's finally here. I hope it's not too short. I was a little disappointed in the length. I expected it to be longer. Oh well. Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm glad you all like it. Please keep it up!

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Gilmore Girls.

**Make A Wish**

**Part Three**

"Those are…"

"Yep"

"And they're…"

"Yep."

"And you're staying at…"

"Uh-huh."

"Wow."

"Wow's one way to put it." Lorelai said as she sipped her coffee, not tearing her eyes away from the plane tickets lying on the counter.

It was currently eight o'clock in the morning and this was the first conversation she and Luke had engaged in since she showed up last night throwing rocks at his window. The entire night had been filled with silence as Lorelai lay in his arms, staring off into space. She was so consumed in rage that she hadn't been able to form any other thought.

She hated him. She hated him more than it was possible to hate a single person. She hated his scruffy blond hair. She hated his stupid little smirk. She hated the way his coat hung off his shoulders, tailored into a perfect fit that oozed money. She hated his name, his reputation. She hated the fact that he had the balls to come here and yell at _her_. She hated the way he could silence her with mere words. She hated his passion. She hated his overly expressive brown eyes that were screaming his emotions at her, showing her how much he truly did love her daughter

What she hated most of all was the fact that she could no longer bring herself to hate him.

"Can you imagine how much that would have cost? Forget about the first class seat and reservations at the Trump Plaza in general. They're _open_. How many favors must that kid have called in to ensure that you could get a room at the drop of a hat anytime you want!?!" Luke exclaimed from behind the counter.

"I know…" Lorelai said with a light nod.

"He must personally know Donald Trump to get that kind of service." Luke said. Lorelai laughed lightly in agreeance. "It wouldn't surprise me if he did, the little punk. I wouldn't put it past him to use outrageous contacts to try to make an impression."

"I doubt these are a favor from Trump himself, Luke." Lorelai said.

"Yea you're probably right. The kid probably just had to drop his last name and the concierge probably dropped on their knees."

"Dirty!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"You know you don't have to do anything with these tickets. He's just trying to make you fell guilty. He's an asshole Lorelai. You and Rory will make up on your own time." Luke said, cleverly ignoring her innuendo.

"I don't think it's like that, Luke."

"Lorelai…"

"No, you weren't there. You didn't see what I saw. He wasn't trying to guilt me into anything. He truly meant everything he said and he was right. He was so totally right about _everything_."

"How could he be right about everything? He doesn't know you. He has no idea why you did what you did." Luke said. "Now, you know I'm not too happy about this whole situation but, unlike him, I'm respecting your decisions. I have full confidence that you two will work this out on your own without the interference of…blackmail. That's what that is Lorelai. It's blackmail. Don't listen to a word that little prick said to you. You are a _wonderful_ mother. Rory is an amazing kid. She fell off her path for while but she'll get back on. And when she does everything will be back to normal."

"What kind of mother leaves her kid hurt and bleeding on the side of the path without trying to help her at all!?!" Lorelai yelled gaining the attention of the entire diner.

"Lorelai…" Luke said, throwing a glance around the room, trying to urge the costumers to watch their breakfast and not his fiancé.

"No, Luke! He was right! I can't help it. Call me weak. Call me stupid for listening to him. Call me whatever the hell you want! But I can't deny the fact that he was right any longer. The second that Rory made one mistake I threw her to the vultures. What kind of mother does that, Luke? What kind of mother stands back and watches her daughter suffer like that and doesn't jump in to try and help her. I'm horrible. I'm a horrible mother!"

Luke walked around the counter and held her close as she broke down. "You're not a horrible mother."

"Yes I am."

"No. You're not." He said emphatically. "Rory loves you. Rory loves you more than you can possible imagine. You had an argument. You'll work it out."

"I'm Emily."

"You are _not _Emily." Luke assured.

"I am. I'm Emily. She did something I didn't want her to do so I just blocked her out. I'm Emily."

"Lorelai, listen to me. You are _not _Emily. Your mother was pushing you away since you were born. You and Rory re so unbelievably close. It's a modern miracle. You don't get that kind of relationship by acting like Emily. You _both _made a mistake. Now, it's time to fix it."

"What are you suggesting I do?" she asked, taking her face out of the shelter of his flannel shirt and wiping the tears from her eyes. Luke reached behind them and gathered the tickets in his hands. He held them out to her and sighed.

"Go to Atlantic City." He said. Lorelai grew a wicked smile.

"You're suggesting that I used the spoiled little rich boy's blackmail tickets!?!" she exclaimed. Luke grumbled while he returned to his post behind the counter and started wiping it down.

"You are!" she exclaimed happily. "You want me to use the blackmail tickets!"

"Lorelai…"

"I wonder if while we're there we can gorge ourselves in room service and ridiculously expensive champagne. After all, it probably wouldn't even make a dent in his Daddy's black card. If he gets mad though I'll just tell him that _you_ made me do it!"

"You're being ridiculous." Luke said.

"Maybe if everything turns out okay we can go on a double date to somewhere incredibly frou frou like The Palm in Times Square!" Luke continued to grumble. "I wonder if his Dad's face is caricatured on the wall! Do you think he's famous enough?"

"Does anyone need coffee?" Luke yelled.

"I do, Sugar!"

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity Rory finally let go of her best friend and allowed her to breathe. The cold fall air was drifting in through the open door but as much as she wanted to make it stop, she didn't want to close the door.

"Thank you so much, Lane." She said.

"Hey, it's no problem. After all, spending the night with your pathetic self allowed me to gorge myself in chocolate cake and an unlimited supply of Doritos so it was totally worth it." Lane said, smiling at Rory as she wrapped her coat tightly around herself.

"Well, as long as I'm able to fulfill your crazy junk food needs you'll always be welcome."

"I just might take you up on that." Lane said before hugging Rory one more time. "Now, you _promised_ to come visit me in Stars Hollow. Don't you dare forget. If you do, I'll have to come hunt you down and drag you there against your will."

"Well…I'll try." Rory said, solemnly.

"Hey, you know, we don't even have to leave the house. I can steal some burgers and fries from Luke and Zack's X-Box 360 should arriving any day now so we can lock ourselves inside and play Mario Kart all day long." Lane.

"I don't think you can play Mario Kart on X-Box 360. I think that's a Nintendo thing."

"Well, whatever, you get my point."

"I can't believe you let Zack get an X-Box 360. If I would have known the dangers of a video game system I would have _never _let Logan buy one. I swear for a while when he first got it, I thought I would never have sex again."

"Well, that's not really a problem in my area." Lane said.

"Yea well…you may never have band practice again."

"Now, that is enough to make me beat it with a baseball bat the second it arrives." Lane said. "I really missed you."

"I missed you too." Rory said.

"Let's never drift apart again." Lane said.

"Deal." Rory agreed with a smile.

"I guess I should go." Lane said, starting to walk out the door.

"Yea I guess."

"Call me." She said.

"I will." Rory assured. "Bye, Lane."

"Bye." With a regretful sigh, Rory closed the door and turned around to face the foyer of her grandparents' house.

It was strange to think that this was really her home now. If anything symbolized what a horrible turn her life had taken in the past few months it was this. The impersonal and ornate decoration, the sickening silence that constantly filled the entire house, the cold feel of the air conditioning slipping out of fancy gold plated vents, they were all enough to make her sick.

In the pool house it was easier to ignore. It was easier to be in denial of the lifestyle that she was living. She had avoided the main house at all costs, refusing to acknowledge the fact that she was living in her grandparent's house. When she walked through the doors she could easily pretend that she was just living in her own apartment.

The bright colorful and warm feeling that she had tried so desperately to give her temporary home had provided her with a false cushion. She felt like she belonged there. But now…now she felt restricted. The illusion that the pool house had given her had come crashing down and now she was forced to see her life for what it really was.

Cold and empty.

With a hard and struggled step, Rory moved from the doorway and walked toward the dining room hoping to find some breakfast. She found the table covered with a variety of muffins and scones. Sitting next to them, was a tray covered with an assortment of jams and butters. At the head of the table sat her grandmother, lost in this morning's issue of USA Today.

She sat down and reached for a blueberry muffin. Carefully, she began picking at it, eating it in dainty little bites. It was strange how suddenly she had completely lost her appetite.

"Did your Korean friend leave?" Emily asked, ruffling the newspaper in her hands.

"Lane. Her name is Lane." Rory said tersely, returning to her muffin.

"Well, I'm terribly sorry, dear. There's no need to take that tone. I just simply do not have the time to memorize the names of every single one of your friends. I'm a very busy woman." Emily snapped back, not tearing her eyes away from the paper.

"You never seemed to have a problem remembering Logan and Paris." Rory commented, knowing full well that her grandmother had an extremely selective memory. Emily finally set the paper down and raised her voice slightly higher than her normal tone.

"Well, that's because I have known Logan since the boy was in diapers and I've met Paris many times over the years. Lane I have only met a couple times. So you'll excuse me for not remembering her name as easily." Emily snapped. Once she was finished with her angry explanation she picked up the paper and began reading once again. "Speaking of Paris…" she said, turning the page, "I don't want you spending the night at her place anymore."

"What!?!" Rory asked, flabbergasted.

"You heard me. I don't want you spending the night at Paris' place. If you'd like she can come over here. That is if you have the decency to ask me first." Emily added lamely at the end.

"Excuse me?" Rory asked.

"You heard what I said, young lady. If you want to have Paris over to stay the night, I would _appreciate _it if you would ask _my_ permission before hand. Otherwise your sleepovers will come to an abrupt stop." Emily said.

"I can't believe this." Rory said, in complete and total shock. "I'm twenty-one years old. You can't _ground _me."

"Oh, yes I can." Emily countered.

"No! You can't! I'm sorry that I didn't ask if it was alright that Lane stayed over last night. But I was hurting. I didn't want to be alone. She was just comforting me. I didn't realize that would _offend_ you so much. But don't worry; neither Paris nor Lane will be spending the night over here in the near future, okay. I outgrew sleepovers a lone time ago. This was a one time thing." Rory said.

"Well then why have you been sleeping at Paris' instead of the pool house three nights out of the week?" Emily demanded.

"I haven't been sleeping at Paris' house! I've been at Logan's!" Rory exclaimed, finally bringing silence to the table.

Her grandmother stared at her agape behind the wall of newspaper in front of her. Rory almost felt bad for a moment. She could see how much her grandmother was hurt. Tears were threatening to fall down her cheeks and Rory realized that with as cruel and mean her grandmother was she was really just concerned.

"I'm sorry Grandma." She said. Emily didn't respond but instead kept her nose in the paper, refusing to make eye contact with her. "I'm a big girl, you know. It's not like I don't know what I'm doing. I _know _what I'm doing. I want you to know that Logan didn't pressure me into anything I wasn't ready for. I was actually the one who um…_initiated _our relationship."

Emily stayed silent but Rory her could hear her breathing increase, signifying that she was indeed listening to what she had to say.

"I'm not going to turn out like Mom, Grandma." Rory said, trying to smooth over her grandmother's fears and maybe get her to open up. The chances were slim to none but it was at least worth a try. "I'm not going to get pregnant. I'm careful. I'm on the pill. I have been for a long time now. I know you're not happy about this and you have every right not to be. I completely understand. I just want you to know that you don't have to worry about anything."

"I don't have to worry about anything!?! Have you lost your mind? Has dropping out of Yale somehow caused a dramatic decrease in your IQ?"

"That really hurt, Grandma…"

"You listen to my young lady and you listen good. I will _always _worry about this. You think that a little pill is going to ensure your safety? You're wrong! Nothing is one-hundred percent effective. You could end up pregnant and ruined in a heartbeat don't you understand that. I am _not _sitting by and letting you ruin your life like your mother."

"Mom didn't ruin her life!" Rory yelled, tears stinging the back of her eyes. Ones that she refused to let fall in front of her grandmother. "She has an amazing life. She has her Inn. She has Luke. She has me. She has everything she ever wanted! Just because she got pregnant didn't mean she ruined her life. She ruined _yours_! That's all you care about. That's all you've _ever _cared about, what the ladies at the DAR will say about _you_!"

"You're not to see that boy again. Do you hear me?" Emily said, ignoring her granddaughter's outburst.

"What?" Rory asked.

"Logan. You're not going to see him again. I want you to end it the next time you talk to him." Emily said.

"You're insane." Rory said, shaking her head in denial.

"I'm serious about this Rory. You're going to end things with him right away. He's bad news. He's a bad influence on you and I won't sit here and let you throw your life away on him."

"No! I'm not endingthings with Logan."

"Yes you are!" Emily demanded.

"No! I'm not! I love him. You can't tell me what to do!" Rory yelled.

"Rory…" Emily started cautiously. "Sometimes when we give a certain part of ourselves to a boy we _think _we feel a certain way. Now, while I have no doubt that the feelings you have in regards to him are strong I question whether or not it's actually _love_. You're simply too young to understand."

"I understand perfectly. You don't think I love him. You think I'm just infatuated with him…"

"Rory…"

"You're wrong." Rory stated emphatically. "I passed that stage a long time ago Grandma. I _love _him."

"Well, you'll excuse me for having my doubts." Emily said, sitting back in her chair.

"And you'll excuse me for leaving." Rory stood up abruptly and walked out of the dining room. On the way up to her room all she could do was shake her head in astonishment. She passed through the living room and was about to walk up the stairs when she ran into her grandfather.

"Rory…" he said. She froze on the step and hung her head, not wanting to listen to what he had to say either. "I couldn't help but overhear the conversation you had in there with your grandmother and I just wanted to say that-"

"Grandpa, I'm sorry but I just really don't want to talk about this anymore." With that Rory took off up the stairs, leaving Richard standing alone at the bottom starting at the wall in front of him.

"-I believe you."

* * *

"I can't do this anymore, Logan I just can't" Rory cried into the phone as she sat on her bed with her knees drawn to her chest. "I hate it here. I hate everything. I hate this room. I hate this house. I hate my grandparents…"

"You don't hate your grandparents." Logan said, trying to add as much rationality to the conversation that he could.

"Yes I do. They want me to break up with you. They got mad that Lane spent the night last night. I _needed _her, Logan. I didn't want to deal with all of this by myself."

"I know…"

"I feel so suffocated. It's like…like I can't so anything right. Every time I feel like I'm taking a step forward it's like a trip and not only do I fall…I fall into a giant pile of elephant crap!"

"Classical element of physical comedy. Now comes the part where we throw our heads back and laugh!"

"Did you just quote George of the Jungle?" Rory asked, laughing through her tears.

"Hey it's a good movie." Logan said. "Are you okay?"

"No. No, I'm really not okay. I can't stand this anymore, Logan. I can't. I feel like I'm constantly being weighed and measured and I never even come close to what anyone wants me to be. I'm like the reject fish that you throw back in the pond or that stupid little chicken finger that always comes in your basket that really looks more like a chicken toe and all it does is make you mad because it's supposed to count as your sixth finger but it sucks and it's just a complete and total rip off."

"Oh, Ace. That's not true. You're always exactly what I want you to be. If other people can't take you for what you are than screw them. You're perfect."

"You don't think I'm a chicken toe?"

"You are so much more than a chicken toe." Logan said, seriously but making Rory laugh anyway. "I don't want you living there, Rory. I don't like it. You're miserable. And you're always hurting."

"Well what am I supposed to do Logan? I can't just move out. I don't have anywhere to go. If I went to my Mom's she'd slam the door in my face. Paris isn't going to let me move in with her. I could stay with Lane but she has enough to deal with already with Zack and Brian. I defiantly can't afford my own place on my DAR salary. I'm screwed. I have to stay here. I don't have a choice."

"Yes you do."

"What? What choice do I have?" Rory half yelled into the phone.

"You can move in with me."

"What?" Rory asked.

"You heard me, Ace. I want you to move in with me. I have a queen sized bed, plenty of food. Henry loves you!" Rory laughed. "You're here half the time anyway. You've already got two dresser drawers you call your own, and right now, for a limited time, I'll throw in three more drawers and a set of Ginsu knives."

"Really?" Rory asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"No, I have no idea where to get Ginsu knives." Logan said with a chuckle that was echoed by his girlfriend.

"Logan, this is…are you sure? Are we ready for this? This is a huge step. I don't want you to feel like you have to this. I don't want to pressure you into anything you're not ready for. I can stay here until I get back to Yale and then I can find a single somewhere…"

"When you get back to Yale huh?" Logan interrupted.

"Yea." Rory said, nodding her head on the phone. "When I get back to Yale."

A comfortable moment of silence passed between the couple as they both sat on their phones smiling. She was finally going back to school, back where she belonged. Logan knew it was only a matter of time before she came to her senses.

"Well…" he began, breaking the silence. "I guess you're lucky then. After all the Taft building is really close to campus. It's almost like being in Branford all over again."

"Logan…"

"Rory, I love you." He interrupted before she could talk herself out of this. His words completely and totally shocked her into silence.

"I know telling you that over the phone seriously violates the romance policy in the Gilmore handbook but I love you. I _want _you to move in with me. I want to wake up next to you everyday. Come on, what do you say?" Rory smiled and sighed into the speaker.

"Well I might need just one more drawer. I can put my socks in a shoebox under the bed."

"Is that a yes?" Logan asked.

"That's a yes." Rory said with a happy laugh. "Although I might need some movers…"

"Colin and Finn will be there in a few minutes."

"Sounds perfect." Rory said. "I can't believe we're doing this."

"Well believe it, Ace. I'm clearing out those drawers as we speak."

"I love you." Rory said. "And as much as I would love to sit here and talk mushy for the next few hours I have another call."

"Go ahead take your call. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Logan." She hung up and hit the flash button on her phone. "Hello?" She asked, leaping off her bed happily and opening her drawer to start packing.

"Hey, kid."

**TBC…**


	4. Part Four

Okay folks, this is a monumentous occasion! It's finally here! The fourth chapter is finally here. You thought it wasn't going to happen didn't you? But it did. I promised to finish this story and finish it I will. I just had a case of writers block that wouldn't stop with this chapter but I finally worked it out and I think - I hope it will live up to your expectations. It's still not finished yet. We have a couple more chapters to go I think. But hopefully they won't take as long. Now, let me start by apologizing my head off for taking so long. You really have no idea how sorry I am. Seriously, I hope you guys enjoy it. I'm kind of a little nervous considering I've taken so long and built up anticipation. I want you guys to like this chapter to please please please review. It would really mean a lot to me to get your feedback on this chapter especially. Enjoy! 

Since it's been so long I thought I'd catch you up. Previously, the tension between Emily and Rory has been growing to apocalyptic proportions and Richard, who overheard a private and loving conversation between Logan and Rory has started to come around to Logan once again, despite the recent news of the details of their relationship. Logan went to see Lorelai after she left Rory at her birthday party, causing her to break out into hysterics. He told her off and offered her a pair of tickets to Atlantic City to use after making up with Rory. The next day, Rory gets in another fight with Emily and while talking to Logan on the phone he offers to have her move in with him. Lorelai has finally built up the courage to call her daughter and apologize, and thus beings the next installment of the story.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gilmore Girls.

**Make A Wish**

**Part Four**

She didn't know how long she stood there, staring at the wall, trying to form enough thoughts to make a cohesive sentence. It seemed like an eternity; perhaps the sudden rush of adrenalin elongated it in her system. Come to think of it, the beating of her heart seemed to be taking a longer time than usual. Normally, she didn't notice things like that. But right now, it was as if her life was moving in slow motion.

"Rory?" The voice called again. "Are you there?"

Never in her life had it been so hard to make the word 'yes' escape her lips. Her mouth was open, her mind was screaming, but her vocal chords were failing. As the seconds passed with no answer from Rory, the silence became more and more awkward.

"Alright then… I guess you hung up…so…I'll just stop talking to myself…"

"Hello." Rory finally said, after being faced with the reality that if she didn't speak soon her mother was going to hang up.

"Rory?" Lorelai asked.

"Yea, it's me." She said. The Gilmore Girls sat holding the phones up to their ears in silence for a few moments, each of them happy with the mere presence of the other on the opposite line. However, the silence was becoming daunting and both of them knew that one of them would have to say something eventually.

"Grandma moved me out of the pool house." Rory said, finally gathering the courage to start a conversation. She could hear a tear filled chuckle come from her mother.

"Why?" Lorelai asked as she wiped a falling tear from her cheek. "Did you sit on the furniture wrong?"

"No…" Rory said. "She found out Logan and I were having sex."

"What?" Lorelai asked with a laugh. "How? Did she walk in on you guys?" Rory paused a moment to let out the first real laugh of the conversation.

"No…" she said. "Can you imagine? Poor Logan probably would have lost a favorite part of his anatomy." This time it was Lorelei's turn to laugh.

"Poor Logan?" She asked. "Poor you." Rory laughed again.

"It would be unfortunate." She agreed.

"Okay, I'm going to stop this before it goes too far." Lorelai said. "Oh my God? Did I tell you that Taylor decided to change the street names?"

"What? No." Rory said.

"He did. The Inn is on Sores and Boils Alley."

"Sores and Boils Alley?" Rory asked. Lorelai's laugh reassured her.

"You know I was mad about it at first but now… I've decided to see the humor in it."

"That's good." Rory said with a laugh. Another silence fell over the line and both Gilmore Girls wracked their brains to find something – anything to say. Rory decided to bite the bullet. "Mom?"

"Yea kid?"

"I'm sorry." Lorelai let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and the tears started to fall once again, this time accompanied by those of her daughter.

"I'm sorry too." She chocked out.

"I don't know what came over me I… I was acting so stupid."

"No…" Lorelai stopped her. "I was acting stupid. You were going through something horrible and instead of helping you I tried to force you to see it my way. I was acting like my mother."

"No Mom…"

"Hey listen, let's not dwell on the specifics okay. We both messed up and we both did something stupid. Just…just pack your bags and come back home."

"Really?" Rory asked, her smile finally reaching her eyes.

"Yea… come home and we'll go to Atlantic City it's not too late." '

"Okay."

"I love you, kid."

"I love you too." With that they hung up, both of them left sitting on their beds and smiling at the telephone in their hands. For the first time in months it seemed that everything was the way it should be.

As Rory reached over and placed the phone on the nightstand a sudden wave of euphoria came over her. She jumped up and started throwing things in boxes. The only thing that was in her mind was that her wish was finally coming true.

She was going to Atlantic City with her mother. She was going to finally go home. For the past few months she'd felt like she was on a never-ending vacation. In theory it sounded wonderful… but when she got there she couldn't help thinking about being home.

She was finally going home.

* * *

"Why are we doing this again?" Colin asked as Finn turned the wheel and pulled onto the Gilmore's street. Finn reached over and turned off the radio. He glanced over at his friend who was wearing a look of pure and utter confusion mixed with annoyance and couldn't suppress the grin that appeared on his face.

"Because, my dear friend, as Logan pointed out ever so bluntly on the phone, we owe him." Finn explained before twitching an eyebrow. "Although…. I don't quite remember what it is we owe him for…however, I suspect that might have something to do with why we owe him." Colin rolled his eyes.

"This better not take too long."

"Why?" Finn asked. "Do you have some pressing appointment that you must attend to?"

"No."

"No…" Finn said, mocking the tone in which Colin spoke. "Then what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is I don't see why we have to waste our day helping some chick that we hardly even know. I mean… we've talked to her like…what… ten times? And that's just because she's always hanging off Logan's arm. Sure she's fun. I'll give you that. But so are Juliet and Rosemary. At least we actually know them."

"Am I detecting some jealously issues here?" Finn asked, looking over at Colin giving him a playful look. Colin rolled his eyes.

"Jealous of what? Logan's relationship?" Colin asked. Finn raised an eyebrow. "You're delusional. I did the relationship thing a long time ago. I'm not looking to do it again."

"I don't mean like that." Finn said. "I mean you're jealous of Rory."

"What?" Colin asked. "Now you're really delusional." Finn turned and smiled at Colin's brooding look. He reached out and pinched his cheek, causing Colin wiggle relentlessly in an effort to get away from him.

"Awww…" Finn said. "My little Banky's all broken up about Logan having a girlfriend." Colin grabbed his arm and pointed in his face.

"Call me Banky again and you lose a testicle."

"You know Banky was really sensitive about homo jokes too. Why don't you look up her senior year book, maybe you'll find an incriminating nick-name and Logan will break up with her." Colin punched him in the arm and Finn almost drove the car off the road before correcting himself.

"If Gilmore had a nick-name in high school I bet you my soul it was Mary." Finn laughed.

"You may be right for once my friend." Finn said. "But you know what they say…. It's the pure looking ones that will blow the roof off the room." A moment of silence passed through the car and Finn pulled up in the driveway. He and Colin looked up at the house before them and both took a large breath of air. They knew what they were doing here… and it seemed at this moment the gravity of the situation settled on both of them. They were moving a girl into their best friend's apartment.

"You ready, mate?" Finn asked as he glanced in Colin's direction.

"Nope." He answered. "But we don't really have much of a choice do we?"

"We're not losing him, you know." Finn said, trying more to convince himself than Colin. "We'll still have poker nights but… with spinach artichoke dip instead of Pace Picasa."

"That's a good thing, right?" Colin asked.

"I think so." Finn said, causing Colin to nod apprehensively. "Until I have to start drinking light beer. That's where I draw the line." Colin laughed.

"Come on. Let's get this over with." They walked with heavy feet to the front door and Colin reached out to ring the doorbell, however, before his fingers could hit the button the door opened to reveal a bright-eyed Rory Gilmore.

"You look happy today, Gilmore." Colin commented, "All smitten about playing house with lover-boy?"

"Not quite." Rory said. "You'll never guess who called me!" The boys stayed silent and watched her with an uninterested expression. "My Mom!"

"Wow…" Colin said.

"When my mother calls me I usually want to scream." Finn added.

"I think I would have the same reaction."

"Your mother is dead, Colin." Finn said.

"That would be why." Rory rolled her eyes and dragged them into the house and up to her room, panting from her excitement as she explained along the way.

"No… you know my Mom and I haven't been on speaking terms but she called. She called and she apologized and I apologized and she wants me to pack up and move back home."

Colin and Finn froze on the stairwell simultaneously. They looked at each other before looking back at Rory who was still blind sighted with joy. Finn scratched the back of his head while Colin open and closed his mouth like a fish. Once Rory noticed they were no longer following her she turned around and placed her hand on her hips.

"What?" she asked.

"Well…moving you into your mother's house wasn't really part of our job description." Colin said. Rory shrugged.

"So… you were helping me pack my stuff anyway…you just need to change the address."

"Love…we can't do that." Finn explained, raising one of his black tipped hands in the air and trying to be as calm and rational as possible.

"Why not? What's the big deal?" Rory asked.

"The big deal!?!" Colin asked, about to explode in rage. Finn waved the hand he held in the air in his direction, silently telling him to calm down.

"Love… the deal was we help you pack and move you into Logan's. Don't you understand why we can't move you into your mom's?"

"No, I don't." Rory said. "I was going to move into Logan's because I didn't have anywhere else to go. Now I do. I don't see why you can't drive the same distance in the other direction. Is it really that much of an inconvenience?"

"It's not about inconvenience, Love."

"Then what's it about?"

"It's about your fucking boyfriend, remember him? The one who didn't throw you to the curb when you made a mistake." Colin said.

"Colin…" Finn warned. Colin turned around and ran a hand through his hair in an effort to calm himself. "Rory, think about this…"

"Think about what?" Rory asked, starting to get defensive. Finn sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I don't understand what the problem is. I was going to be living with my mother until I started school again anyway. So it's not summer anymore…big deal. I'll just stay with her until next semester and then I'll find a single."

"You are the most selfish person I've ever met in my - "

"Colin, time-out!" Finn yelled, before calming down to talk to Rory. "Rory, Logan asked you to move in with him."

"I know." Rory said. "And he is so sweet for doing it. I love him so much. But I don't need to live with him anymore. Everything's great."

"I'm not sure he'll see it the same way." Finn explained. "He asked you to move in with him because he loves you and he wants to be with you. He wants to invest something into your relationship, something huge. If you move in with your mom, he'll take that as you not feeling the same way."

"But…"

"There's no buts about it Rory it's the way it is. It's the way he works…" Finn said. "Look we'll help you pack but…you're going to have to figure out where to drop the boxes all by yourself." The boys walked upstairs, leaving Rory frozen on the spot.

As she watched them walk away she was hit with the gravity of her situation. She was suddenly faced with the fact that she wasn't a child anymore. For the first time in her life her home wasn't where her mother was.

What was that phrase that she had heard so many times before? Home is where the heart is. Now all she had to do was figure out who held the bigger half of her heart: her mother, the woman who had raised her, been her confidant for years, given her everything… or Logan the man she loved more than anything.

How was she supposed to chose?

* * *

Hearing a loud crash from outside, Richard had no choice but to follow the noise, wondering what on earth could have caused such a racket. When he stepped unto the back patio, his eyes fell upon the wide open door of the pool house. Looking inside, he could se the mountains of trinkets his wife he stuffed in the living room so that Rory wouldn't be able to step inside. He wondered, briefly, how she was able to move all of the items to get inside but then he simply shrugged. She was Emily Gilmore.

He stepped toward the building slowly, peeking his head through the door in an effort to find her. When he didn't see her anywhere in sight he called out her name.

"Emily!"

"Back here!" came a voice from the bedroom.

Richard looked over his surroundings, trying to find a suitable path for him to follow in order to make his way to his wife. After squeezing his way through and steeping over various obstacles, Richard finally made it to the bedroom which was completely clutter free except for the various items that Emily had strewn across the room, all of which belonging to Rory.

"What on earth are you doing in here?" he asked, watching as Emily ransacked their granddaughter's closet. Emily remained silent and reached into the closet, throwing a dirty navy blue oxford shirt at Richard who caught it despite his surprise.

"Is this Rory's?" he asked, holding the wrinkled garment in front of him and studying it with a raised eyebrow. He couldn't imagine why Rory would have a shirt such as this in her wardrobe. Emily rolled her eyes.

"No." she said. "It's Logan's. As are these…" She pulled out a pair of black pleated pants.

"This…" Richard caught a white t-shirt as she flew toward his head.

"This…" The belt that Emily was holding in her hands dropped the floor.

"And these..." The last item that Emily pulled out of the closet was a pair of blue plaid boxers. She held them with the tips of her fingers by the waistband and dropped them instantly. Richard gathered up the pile of dirty cloths and threw them back in the hamper where they belonged.

"Can you believe this?" Emily said. "That boy has spent the night here on more than one occasion. The hamper is filled with his clothes. He even has clean clothes hanging up for him to use so he can spend the night whenever he wants." Richard brought a hand to his eyes and sighed, trying to rub out the tension that was slowly building up to a headache.

"It's only practical, Emily."

"Practical!?!" She screeched, throwing her hands in the air. "Do you hear yourself, Richard?"

"Yes, Emily, I can hear myself perfectly fine."

"His clothes aren't the only things I've found while going through this closet. I won't show you anything else because I don't want you to go through any unnecessary grief but I've found items of…clothing in these drawers that have caused me to shield my eyes while passing Fredrick's of Hollywood." Richard rolled his eyes.

"Honestly Emily, I doubt that Rory would ever wear something of that lewd a nature."

Emily twitched an eyebrow and opened a drawer inside the closet. She took out a short silky black nightgown that was trimmed with lace and Richard simply rolled his eyes.

"That's a nightgown Emily!" Richard said. "It's hardly vulgar."

"It's hardly flannel either." Emily retorted.

"I simply don't see the problem in Rory having a more…mature set of pajamas. She is twenty-one years old now. She outgrew the Disney Princess pajamas years ago." Emily threw the nightgown back in the closet.

"Fine." She said. "If this isn't alarming you, follow me into the bathroom."

"Emily…" Richard said, grabbing unto his wife's arm before she could walk into the other room. Emily spun around and gave him a look that could kill. All Richard could do was offer another powerless sigh. "I really have no interest in going in there."

"You should have an interest!" Emily said. "This is your granddaughter, Richard! You should be interested in the fact that she's throwing her life away like this. She's letting that boy get too close to her. She's letting him do things… things that only her husband should be allowed to do. I found condoms in the bathroom, Richard! If you don't have an interest in that then your not the man I thought you were. The Richard I know wouldn't stand idly by and let history repeat itself! That girl is going to end up pregnant!"

"If you found condoms in the bathroom, Emily, than she's taking precautions to make sure that doesn't happen. We should take that as a good sign, not a bad one."

"What has come over you?" Emily asked.

Richard just closed his eyes and looked out the window, not wanting to tell his wife about the conversation he overheard the other night and the love he could feel coming from Logan after talking with Rory. Yes, this development in their relationship concerned him; he would be a fool not to be concerned. Yet, after witnessing those two together all the bitterness toward the boy had disappeared.

"Why are you so nonchalant about this?" Emily continued. "Aren't you the least bit concerned? Because I am. I am more than concerned and Rory's future isn't all I'm concerned about. I'm concerned about her."

"What do you mean, Emily?" Richard asked.

"What I mean is that…Rory used to be so strong." Emily said. "She used to be so confidant and self aware. She would never let a boy pressure her into doing anything that she wasn't ready to do. Then he comes along and she's submitting to his…seductions without a fight. It worries me. I want to know why she thinks she owes him this. The Rory I know would never give herself in return for a purse and a nice meal…"

"Emily…" Richard said.

"She wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready but she let herself be pushed…"

"She didn't let herself be pushed, Emily. She loves him."

"Oh please." Emily said. "She's a child she doesn't know what love is."

"She's not a child." Richard said, not realizing that the mere utterance of that sentence would tear his heart to pieces. "She's twenty-one. She's a grown woman. And the only thing she's guilty of is engaging in an intimate relationship with the _man_ she loves."

Emily shook her head in denial and walked away from her husband to the dresser across the room. Richard just stood and watched helplessly as Emily continued to search the contents of their granddaughter's bedroom. She was killing herself doing this. She was killing her relationship with Rory. He had lived a moment just like this twenty-one years ago.

"They're children, Richard." Emily said, trying to hide the cracks in her voice. "I watched them both grow up. I remember them both in diapers. They're children." Richard closed his eyes once again and stood there for a moment collecting himself.

"They're children." Emily repeated.

Richard opened his eyes and watched his wife for a moment. He knew that tears were streaming down her cheeks the second she paused in what she was doing to reach up and bring a hand to her eyes. Not being able to handle his emotions anymore, he turned around and made his way out the pool house. He walked back inside his home, through the living room and up the stairs, pausing at Rory's bedroom door. His heart tore apart again as he watched two young men he didn't recognize packing her belongings into boxes. Yes, history was repeating itself once again.

**TBC...**

* * *

There it is! Please Review! 


	5. Part Five

I bet you people never thought this day would come did you? Well it is here. I'm sorry to all those who I told that I was going to update Training Wheels next but... I just had the weirdest urge to write this and that hasn't happened in a really long time so I decided not to ignore it. I told you I hadn't abandoned this story! I have not abandoned anything!! Hahaha. Anyway, please enjoy.

Here's a recap for those of you too lazy to go back and read the whole thing:

Previously,The Gilmore's were shocked to learn of the sexual relationship between Logan and Rory. Lorelai came to Rory's birthday party and left early, causing her to go up to her room and cry with Logan there to comfort her. The tension between Emily and Rory has been growing to apocalyptic proportions and Richard, who overheard a private and loving conversation between Logan and Rory has started to come around to Logan once again, despite the recent news of the details of their relationship. Logan went to see Lorelai after she left Rory at her birthday party, causing her to break out into hysterics. He told her off and offered her a pair of tickets to Atlantic City to use after making up with Rory. The next day, Rory gets in another fight with Emily and while talking to Logan on the phone he offers to have her move in with him. Lorelai finally built up the courage to call her daughter and apologize and offered to have Rory move back into Stars Hollow. Rory is caught between choosing to live with her mother and her boyfriend and thus begins the next chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gilmore Girls.

**Make A Wish**

**Part Five**

He was giddy.

He had unpacked many a drawer in his life. There were the drawers of his bedroom when he was getting ready to go to a new school. There were the drawers of his dorm when he was getting ready to go home after being kicked out. There were the drawers of his Yale on campus apartment when he was getting ready to move into the Taft building. Unpacking drawers had always been a tedious and annoying process. But not this time.

This time he had never been more excited to unpack a drawer in his life.

With every removal of a sock he could see one of hers taking its place. The same went with every pair of boxers, but his mind went into an entirely different place when he thought of what would be replacing his underwear. It went somewhere that it probably shouldn't go until later on in the evening because, chances were, Rory's mind would be focused completely on moving into his apartment in a speedy and organized fashion. He should expect nothing more than a quick peck on the lips before his biceps were put into use.

Now that he was thinking about heavy lifting, he might also want to clear up some shelf space for her books. Actually he should probably run to the furniture store and buy another bookshelf. Come to think of it, he should probably wait for Rory before buying any new furniture. Looking around his apartment, he couldn't help but notice how unbelievably masculine it looked.

Rory probably would not feel very at home here. With that realization he felt a pang in his heart that he couldn't quite describe. It felt very familiar to the feeling he had when he realized as a child that he would never be good enough for his father. It came along with the feeling of inevitable disappointment. And the last person he wanted to disappoint was Rory.

She was the only person in the world who had the power to take him from a giddy moron to a nervous wreck in the matter of seconds.

He was in love with her.

He wasn't sure when exactly he had realized this. Because he was quite certain he had realized it long before he allowed himself to admit it as truth. And he had just allowed himself to admit it as truth just after he had hung up the phone with her.

She was moving in with him.

He never thought this day would come. Sure, when he was younger he always thought that someday he would find the one, fall madly in love, get married, and live happily ever after. But that was before Cindy McAllister had entered his life. Just the thought of her name made him physically ill.

Cindy McAllister had entered Logan Huntzberger's life at the age of twelve. She was a sweet, beautiful, twenty-five year old woman who had made an appearance at his sister's birthday party on the arm of his father. His mother was out of town and his father had introduced her as a friend – a friend that he was not allowed to tell his mother about.

Mitchum had forgotten the very important detail that his son was twelve years old, not stupid. It seemed that night, as Logan had drifted through the party, eavesdropping on one conversation after another, that he had learned more about the type of man that his father was than he had in his entire twelve years of life. And not only did he learn about his father's exploits but with every group of talking women came one more piece of gossip about the infidelity of other men and women.

That night he had vowed never to waste his time trying to find love. It didn't exist.

Rory had helped him realize that not only did love exist, but it was definitely something that he wanted to hold onto.

Taking out his phone, he pressed number four on his speed dial and waited with bated breath for an answer.

"_Hello?"_

"My apartment is not girly enough!"

There was a laugh at the other end of the line. _"Logan, is there something you're not telling me? Did you and Colin finally forgo all that sexual tension that has been building up over the years?" _

"You're hilarious," Logan said. "Rory is moving in in like….two hours and my apartment is not girly enough. She is going to hate it and she's going to move out and never talk to me again because I wouldn't let her feel at home in my stuffy, dark, boyish apartment."

"_You're still seeing Rory?" _Honor practically screeched. _"She's moving in with you? What the hell, Logan? Why are you not keeping me updated on things like this?"_

"Why wouldn't I still be seeing Rory?"

There was a pause at the other end of the phone and Logan could tell that his sister was taking her time to formulate a response that would do the least amount of psychological damage. She bit her lip and sighed before letting her honest thoughts out in a whisper. _"Well…it's just… I didn't expect that _thing _you had going on to last very long. That's all." _

"That _thing_?" Logan asked. "What the hell does that mean? You don't think I have what it takes to make a relationship last for more than a week?"

Honor sighed; she could hear the anger and hurt in her little brother's voice over the phone. But she couldn't lie to him, _"Well… no…" _

Logan shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe this. You're supposed to be the one person in my family who has faith in me. What? Do you think I'm just like Dad? That I couldn't possibly stay in a relationship without sleeping with the next pair of tits that crosses my path?"

"_I _never _said that, Logan!" _Honor yelled. _"It's not like that at all!"_

"Then what is it like, Honor? Please tell me."

"_You always run before things get too serious! When you left after dinner that night and Mom and Grandpa were going on about you and Rory and the m-word I thought that was it. I haven't heard from you since then. I didn't know that you were still seeing her. I just assumed that you bailed."_

"Well, I'm glad to know that you have so much faith in me and my ability to hold down a relationship."

"_Logan…"_ Honor pleaded as she sensed that he was about two seconds from hanging up on her and not talking to her until she walked down the aisle. _"I _love _you. I don't mean to hurt your feelings. I don't. I'm just being honest with you. And I was wrong. Okay? I'm glad I was wrong. I love Rory and I'm so happy that you guys are working out." _

"Thanks…"

"_Logan, I've _never _thought that you don't have what it takes to hold down a relationship. I just…. I never thought you actually wanted to." _

Logan turned his head to the window and bit his lip, escaping for a moment into his thoughts. Could he really be mad at his sister for having the same thoughts about him that he had just had about himself?

"_So your apartment is not girly enough you say?"_

Logan smiled. "No. It looks like a boy lives here…"

Honor laughed out loud. _"I wonder why."_

"I just…" Logan sighed. "I'm afraid that she is going to move in here and feel like a guest. What should I do? What should I get?"

"_Logan, if you want Rory to feel at home then don't do anything. Just let her come and do whatever it is that she wants to do. Go shopping with her and ask what she wants. Don't go and buy a bunch of stuff without her. You want her to feel like she has a choice in what goes on. Going out and buying a bunch of pink throw pillows without her isn't going to help." _

"Okay…" Logan said with a sigh. "Honor?"

"_Yes, Logie-bear?" _

"I'm nervous."

"_I can tell," _Honor said. _"You didn't even yell at me for calling you Logie-bear." _

"I'm serious."

"_You'll be fine." _

Logan smiled and took a deep breath as he remembered why it was that he called his sister in the first place. With just one sentence she had the power to make him feel a hundred times better about himself.

"_I remember when Josh and I moved in together. It was the best - "_

"Yea…. I don't really want to hear this story. I mean I don't really care."

"_Why do I even try to talk to you? You're such an asshole." _

Logan smiled. "I love you too! Bye!"

"_Bye! I hope you get syphilis!" _

Logan hung up the phone and laughed. He loved his sister. He honestly had no idea why he didn't call her more often. As a child she had been such a pillar of support in his life. She was almost a mother to him. It was her room that he ran into when he had a nightmare and it was her that he went to if he scratched his knee.

She always knew exactly how to fix his problems and make him feel better, even now when he was twenty-three years old.

He placed the phone back in his pocket and, taking a deep breath, looked one more time around his bachelor pad. It was never going to look the same again. Even if, God forbid, they broke up and she moved out it was still never look the same. Her fingerprint was going to stay in this apartment forever.

And for some strange reason he didn't seem to care.

A knock on the door made him jump with excitement. He bounced over to answer it and as the door swung open he came face to face with his girlfriend.

"I hope you have a lot of boxes for me to lift because I skipped my trip to the gym today and I need my workout to stay this beautiful."

Rory looked up at him, revealing her red-rimmed eyes and biting her lip.

"Logan…. We need to talk."

* * *

The last of the boxes had been brought downstairs. Andrew McCrae's son and that tall foreign boy had spent hours in her home, traveling up and down the stairs from her granddaughter's room and back and forth from the pool house to the foyer, dropping the boxes of her things by the door as they went. After finishing her rummage through her granddaughter's things, Emily just began to sit an watch them as they so nonchalantly tore through her relationship with her granddaughter.

They had no idea what they were doing. They had no idea that by moving those boxes they were cutting the last tie that Emily Gilmore had to Rory. Their relationship would never be the same again. Rory would never feel the same way about her again.

She had lost both her girls in the same devastating way.

Why was it that she could not keep them safe? How had it come to pass that both of the girls that meant the world to her were ruined by the men in their lives? She had such high hopes for both of them and they were crushed in the same way twice. How was it that Emily Gilmore was not able to see through the cool exteriors of those boys?

It was terrifying how utterly wrong she was about Logan Huntzberger. She had always thought that he was such a nice boy. Of course she knew his reputation. But it had been her strong belief that all he needed to do was find the right girl, a girl who would capture his heart and make him see the error of his ways. For a while she had thought that it was Rory that would do that for him.

She was wrong. Rory didn't change Logan. Logan changed Rory. And not for the better.

With every second she sat on the couch nursing her glass of wine she continued to think of the things that Logan must have done to her. Images that she never wanted to imagine flashed in her mind and she could not force them away. The knowledge of what they were doing was making her sick. And as the time went by, the sick feeling in her stomach began to turn to rage.

Unable to take the situation sitting down any longer, she thrust herself up from her chair and walked over to Richard's study where she flipped through his address book until she landed upon the name Huntzberger. She dialed the phone and waited until she heard a sickeningly saccharine voice on the other end.

"_Hello?"_

"Hello, Shira. This is Emily Gilmore. How are you?"

"_Emily! Well, what a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" _

"You can drop the act, Shira. I think we are both perfectly aware of how we both feel about each other. This is hardly a friendly phone call on my part."

"_What can I do for you, Emily?" _Emily noticed immediately the change of tone in the other woman's voice.

"Well…" Emily began. "You can start by telling me how it is you managed to raise a son just as conniving and two-faced as yourself."

"_I _beg _your pardon?" _Shira said. _"You may have a problem with me, Emily Gilmore, and frankly I don't blame you for having one but don't you dare presume that I will accept you calling my home and talking about my child in such a manner." _

"I wouldn't have to if your _child _as you put it hadn't absolutely ruined my granddaughter and my family in the process. I never realized Logan was such an evil genius but with you as a mother I guess I shouldn't be too surprised."

"_Perhaps you should tell me what exactly this is about, Emily." _

"It's about your son defiling my one and only granddaughter!"

Shira had the gall to laugh on the other end. _"Oh Emily, is that what this is about? What kids get up to these days is their own business. Honestly I'm surprised this has come as such a surprise to you. Logan is twenty-three years old and Rory isn't too far behind. Perhaps its best we just leave well enough alone."_

"Excuse me, Shira," Emily ground into the phone. "But you seemed to have absolutely no intention of _leaving well enough alone_ when you attacked Rory at the dinner you held at your house."

Once again the blonde woman laughed. _"Well… Frankly, Emily, there is a difference between the girls my son brings home to marry and the girls he… well…._amuses _himself with. I don't get involved in that part of his life. It's not a mother's place." _

Emily Gilmore's face contorted into a look of rage that only a few people had ever seen before – her husband and her daughter. To think that she used to consider this woman a friend of hers. She had never hated anyone more than she hated Shira Huntzberger and her son at this moment.

"Let me get this straight, Shira," she began. "You have absolutely no problem with your son using my granddaughter for sex but the second a ring appears on her finger you will put an end to it."

Shira laughed a third time. _"Well, I strongly doubt that will happen. Logan…he is a free spirit. He'll get bored eventually. I'm not concerned."_

"Yes, he's like his father that way isn't he?" This time there was no laugh on the other line.

"_I think we've talked quite enough about this, Emily."_

"You keep that boy of yours away from my granddaughter, Shira."

A fourth and final laugh was heard over the wire. _"But, Emily, those kids will be together whether you like it or not."_

Emily Gilmore was rendered speechless.

"_Goodnight. Give my love to Richard." _

* * *

We need to talk.

What a cliché. It was surprising just how much panic hearing those words in real life could be. He had never heard them before in his life, yet it seemed fitting that the first time he would, and the first time they would affect him, they would come from the lips of Rory Gilmore. They inspired a pounding in his heart so intense that he could feel the throbbing in his ears. How was it that she held such a power over him? With one mere sentence Rory Gilmore was able to cause his heart physical strain.

It had been approximately ten minutes since the dreaded sentence was uttered and in that time Logan had somehow managed to calmly lead her into his apartment and to his couch where she was currently sitting, trying to control her tears so that she could begin to speak uninhibited. Logan had been up to get her a glass of water that she had gratefully accepted. It was almost gone now.

"Ace?"

Rory bit her lip and swallowed down the enormous lump in her throat. She was going to have to speak eventually. She was going to have to crush him eventually.

"My Mom and I made up," she said simply and softly. Logan broke out a huge smile and his genuine happiness for her made her feel even worse about herself.

"Rory!" Logan exclaimed. "That's amazing. I'm so happy for you! Why are you crying about this?"

"I'm not crying about that," she explained.

Confused, Logan cocked his head to the side and reached over to grab one of her hands in his. The innocent and loving touch made Rory flinch, knowing that in a matter of seconds his heart would be broken because of her and her unnaturally close relationship with her mother.

She wanted to move in with him so badly. She wanted nothing more than to enter the next phase of their relationship, but she was afraid. She was so horribly afraid of what choosing him over her mother would do to their already rocky relationship. She didn't have a choice. If she ever wanted be close with her mother again she had to do this.

"My mom wants me to move back to Stars Hollow."

It was hardly a whisper. But it carried an explosion louder than an atomic bomb. Although every muscle in his body had stayed exactly as it was before, she could see the despair flow through him right in front of her. Damn his eyes.

"Oh…"

"I don't know what to do!" Rory sobbed. Her crying intensified as Logan's hand pulled away from her. He unconsciously moved away from her on the couch and turned his head so that he was starting at the door to the bathroom, lost in thought.

"Logan…" When he didn't turn to look at her Rory let out another sob. She leaned forward and lifted her hands to his face, trying to force him to look at her. "Logan…" she pleaded again. "Please…"

He jerked his head away from her hands and stood up to being pacing around the room.

"I…" he began, pausing to formulate a sentence and run a hand through his hair. "I can't believe this…."

"I didn't expect for this to happen!" Rory explained as he continued to pace around his apartment. She had settled her tears to the point where she was capable of holding an actual conversation. And she wanted nothing more than to talk to him about this. "She just called me out of the blue the second after I talked to you and we apologized and she wants me to move back in with her and - "

"And you obviously want to move back to Stars Hollow."

"I never said that!"

Logan scoffed and looked away from her, halfway because he was so angry he could scream and halfway because he was so hurt that she picked her mother over him that he was embarrassed to show his face to her. Being vulnerable was something that Logan Huntzberger did not take kindly to.

"You didn't have to say it, Rory," Logan said. "You showing up here in tears is enough to tell me that you don't want to move in with me."

Rory bit her lip. "I'm just so confused. I don't know what I want."

"I think you do," Logan said, pulling out his cell phone. "I'll call Colin and Finn and tell them to help you move into your Mom's place instead."

"Logan, stop it!" Rory said as she jumped up from the couch and snatched his phone away from him. "I never said that I was moving in with her. I came over here to talk to you about it!"

"What's to talk about, Rory?" Logan asked, his heartbreaking. "What am I? I'm just some guy that you happen to be with at the moment. I'm the guy who probably has a lot to do with why you and your mother even fought to begin with. How am I supposed to compete with her?"

"You are not just some guy, Logan. I _love _you." She brought a hand up to touch his face one more time but once again he flinched away from her. As if her words weren't painful enough, her touch was like a knife. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Rory…"

"Tell me what to do," she pleaded. "Please. Just tell me what I should do."

"Don't you dare ask me that!" Logan said, quickly moving from hurt to angry. Rory was taken aback by his reply.

"Logan…"

"No! Don't come in here telling me that you have to choose between moving in with your mother or me and then ask me to choose for you. Because I'm going to tell you to move in here! And the last thing I want is you moving in here because you feel sorry for me…"

"I would move in here because I love you!"

"Oh please…"

"You don't know what this is like for me!" Rory yelled. "You have no idea what it could do to me and my mother if I choose you over her. She's my best friend! Would it be such an easy choice if you had to choose between Colin and me!? This is hard! I love you both so much. If I don't move in with her we may never be the same again!"

"Would that be so bad, Rory?"

"Don't you dare!" Rory said. "You have absolutely no idea what it means to have a family like my Mom and I have. Don't you dare treat this like it's no big deal."

"I'm not! And you're right. I don't know what it's like to have a relationship with my parents like you have with your mother. But call me crazy….I don't think that's a bad thing! I don't find it unhealthy that I'm not so utterly dependent on my parents that I can't make a decision like oh…. when to lose my virginity without consulting them."

As soon as the words left his mouth he hated himself. Partly because the last thing he wanted right now was for her to be mad at him and partly because he really didn't feel that way about her relationship with her mother. He didn't feel that way about it at all.

"Screw you, Logan."

He closed his eyes and nine seconds later heard the door to his bathroom slam shut. Nothing could have made this moment worse, nothing, other than perhaps the ringing of his phone and the sight of his father's name on the caller id.

"Hello?"

"_Logan, this is your father."_

Logan took in some air and let it out slowly, hoping that Mitchum would not hear the annoyance or the pain hidden in his breath. "What do you want, Dad?"

"_Your mother has been on my ass all night telling me to call you and let you know that she received a vicious phone call this afternoon from Emily Gilmore. Apparently she isn't too fond of you and the way you are treating Rory." _

"I'm sorry, but I don't see how my relationship is any of your or Emily's business. Tell Mom I'm sorry she called and I will talk to Rory."

"_I know its not my business what you do with your girlfriend, Logan. But it is my business when my wife bitches at me all day because of a phone call she received concerning you." _

"Dad…"

"_I know you and Rory are having sex. I don't give a rat's ass. Frankly, I'd be more concerned if I learned that you weren't. I would just like to remind you not to flaunt this information in front of _Emily Gilmore. _The woman is psychotic. And if your mother gets another phone call like this I will not come to your rescue." _

"Oh, this is you coming to my rescue?"

Mitchum sighed. _"Don't forget the meeting with your career counselor tomorrow, please?"_

"I won't!"

"_And wear something nice. Don't show up in a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. These people know me. I have a reputation to maintain. The way that you dress and behave reflects upon me." _

"I never wear jeans and a tee shirt, Dad. _Never_. You would know that if you spent any time with me outside of events that require a suit and tie."

"_Just show up and look good," _Mitchum said with an obvious hint of annoyance in his voice. _"Oh and Logan…" _

"What?"

"_Nice." _

The tone of his father's voice left no question as to what exactly he was talking about and the knowledge made him shudder in disgust. It made him look upon the time Rory spent working at the Stamford Eagle Gazette with even more contempt. The thought of Mitchum's eyes on her made him want to pull his hair out.

"Go to hell."

* * *

It had been a half an hour since the bathroom door had slammed shut and he had not heard a sound coming from the room at all. He found himself standing in the hall staring at the door, trying to build up the courage to walk through. With a deep breath he opened the door and walked in, looking around to see his girlfriend sitting inside the bathtub with her feet drawn up to her chest and her chin resting on her knees.

He had never felt worse about himself.

She moved her eyes upward to acknowledge him and he offered her a weak smile before climbing into the bathtub with her. He sat on the opposite end and watched her for a moment, reveling in the peaceful silence.

"I'm surprised you're still here."

Rory turned her head to the side, too upset to look him in the eyes at the moment. Her move made Logan's heart ache all the more. "I didn't want to leave things like this."

"I'm so sorry I said that, Ace," Logan said. Rory finally moved her head back to look at him and he, once again, saw tears fall down her face. "I didn't mean that about you and your Mom, I was just…"

"You're just jealous of her!" Rory accused with a raised voice. Apparently the yelling was not going to stop even after half an hour. "You're my boyfriendLogan. Not only are you my boyfriend and you are jealous of my _mother _but you're twenty-three years old and acting like you're two!"

"Rory…"

"Don't," Rory said. "I don't want to hear your bullshit excuses. It's pathetic. You're jealous."

"Yes," Logan said, shocking Rory with his honesty. "I am."

"I…"

"I am jealous and why shouldn't I be? I had gotten used to being number one on your speed dial for the past couple months. For the first time in my life I had been the most important person in someone's life but now all that is gone. I'm not the most important person in your life anymore because suddenly she's back and how on earth I am supposed to compete with _her_?"

"You're my boyfriend, Logan. She's my mother. You don't have to compete with her."

"Yes I do!" Logan said. "I'm not going to be the first person you call anymore. I'm not going to be the person that you want to spend your weekends with. I'm not going to be the person you want to live with anymore…"

"I never said that I wanted to move in with her!" Rory said. "I came in here and you assumed everything! I just wanted to talk to you about it. I still don't know what I want to do."

"I think you do…"

Rory shook her head. "If you have such a problem with my mother being back in my life then why the hell did you want us to make up in the first place!?"

"Because I love you and I hate seeing you miserable!"

Time stood still. Rory eyes widened with shock at the confession. It was strange. She had heard him say it over the phone but for some reason hearing it from him, here, in this moment, while they were sitting in a bathtub, fully clothed, and fighting with each other… it made it just seem so real.

He loved her. The thing that Rory had thought would never happen in their relationship had actually happened. For the longest time she had convinced herself that she didn't need to hear it, that the way he looked at her was enough but she was wrong. Nothing compared to the feeling that those words coming from Logan Huntzberger stirred within her.

"You…"

"You were crying and hate seeing you cry! It tears me apart. And I just knew while I was in that room holding you that I would have done anything to see you smile again!"

"You love me."

"I never thought that bringing your mother back into your life would tear us apart. And it shouldn't have to. So if you want to move in with her, go. I'll….I'll deal…"

"You _love _me!"

"What? I… I've told you that before you know…"

Rory shook her head. "Not like this. Not in person when you're so mad at me you could scream."

"I…"

"You _really _love me. You didn't just say it cause you were happy and you wanted me to move in. You love me even when I'm crying in your bathtub."

"Rory…"

She crawled across the bathtub over to his side while wiping the tears from her eyes. He was panicked. He had the look of a man who had just accidentally let his deepest, darkest secret slip away. He almost looked like he could cry.

Rory smiled from ear to ear and placed a hand on both of his cheeks. "I love you too, you know…"

Logan turned his head to the side and Rory rolled her eyes at him. She used her grip on his face to turn his head back to her and placed a gentle but passionate kiss on his lips. She broke away and wrapped her arms around his neck, settling herself on his lap and burying her face in his neck. Logan breathed in the strawberry scent of her hair and hugged her close.

"I just want you to do whatever will make you happy," he said. "I'm sorry I was such a jerk."

Rory lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "I will."

Logan sighed. "So…I guess…"

"I guess we should go look for some more bookshelves. Cause we're really gonna need 'em."

* * *

**TBC...**

Come on? Did you really think I was going to make her choose Lorelai over Logan? :P Haha. Please review!


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